Hurt Black Clown

[angnak]

My clown and Black Tang got into it and she now has some damange on her eye. What can I add to the tank to help heal her. Also she is staying away from the BTA that she stays in. This was happening before the damage. Is something wrong with her? She has been acting weird the last couple of weeks and stays towards the back of the tank. I don't see any eggs or anything. I am worried about how she is acting. She is very aggressive and was bigger than the black tang, plus the tang use to be a scardy cat, but know the tang is fighting back. She also use to be bigger than my naso but she has also grown to about the same size if not bigger and is not letting the clown boss her around anymore. They all swim by her BTA. She doesn't even sleep in the BTA anymore. Her little boyfriend stays in the BTAs all the time. Sorry this is so long I am just worried about her. TIA

Here is a picture of her eye.

[fugazi]

are you sure it's damage from a fight? or could it be a bacterial infection? either way your best bet is probably to put in quarentine and use a antibiotic to clear up that eye. just my thoughts. hth

[mps9506]

Is she still eating? If so I would just see about letting her heal up naturally. Catching her with a net to QT probably won't do that any any good.
Just make sure she eats some good food and a few weeks she should be doing better. My guess is she is not going into the anemone to prevent the nematocycts from doing any damage to her.
Mike

[mps9506]

BTW, can we see a pic of the black tang Don't see to many of those around here.

[Craig Manoukian]

Bummer dude, hope all is well with your clown! Keep us posted.

[Woodstock]

Originally Posted by mps9506

BTW, can we see a pic of the black tang Don't see to many of those around here.

[angnak]

Yeah, I will post a picture.

The clown has been keeping away from the BTA before this. Yesterday I woke up and did the normal routine. Saw them get into it and later in the day saw her eye like that. So I am assuming it was from that because the black tang has what looks like a couple of scales hanging off by it dagger thingy on its tail. She ate what I saw only to be a bite or two yesterday before the black tang came around and they got into it again, so I went over to that side of the tank and I must of scared her because she went back behind the rocks and never came out again that night. She eats more than the orange shoulder so I don't see her eating being a problem. So far after one day she is still eating. My wife just called and said she is asleep in the BTA (the fish is not my wife lol). So that seems to be a good thing. I will just let it run its course. If I notice she is not eating well I will catch her and put her in QT. Thanks for all the responses. I will post a Pic later. Waiting on the wife to send them to me at work.

[angnak]

I didn't see the clown when I came home tonight. So I don't think she ate tonight.

By popular demand here is the best picture I could get of the tang. He/she is very camera shy. Actually he is person shy. lol. This picture does not do the tang justice. I am not very good with the camera and he is very fast.



edit: WOW I did not realize how fuzzy it was. Sorry for the bad picture. She changes colors a little bit when she eats.

[Craig Manoukian]

Man look at that white surgeons scalpel at the base of the tail. Thanks for the pic. Blacks have a reputation for being very aggressive!

[NaH2O]

If you do decide to take the fish out for QT, Terry Bartelme has been discussing hyposalinity to aid in fish treatment.

From the article: Quarantine Methodology - part 2

Lowering the salinity to less than that of natural seawater is a common practice among public aquariums, hatcheries and fisheries. Lessening the gradient between the internal fluids of the fish and their surrounding environment reduces osmotic pressure. This conserves metabolic energy that would normally be required for osmoregulation. Since hydromineral imbalances are inherent to stress in fish, lowering the salinity can reduce the effects of these stressors. Dr. Cheung (Cheung et al., 1979) reported that boney marine fish could be kept in a salinity of 16ppt “indefinitely.” I do not suggest maintaining marine fish in a salinity less than natural seawater on a permanent basis.

And another article in Advanced Aquarist that said...

The other advantage that is of great interest with hyposalinity, is the reduction of osmotic stress on fish with abrasions or lesions. In theory, the reduction of the osmolar gradient between the internal tissues and the surrounding environment would be beneficial to injured mucus and epidermal tissue. This reduction in the osmolar gradient, in theory, greatly reduces the loss of water from the fish to the surrounding environment. The ability to maintain hydration in an injured marine fish too small to administer fluids could prove very beneficial. Many more studies, which are ongoing at this time, and sample collections remain to prove this theorized aspect of low salinity.

Let us know how the fish is doing!

[Emerald]

How long has the eye appeared this way? If the fish is not eating, I would suggest moving to QT to treat for secondary infection. The notes posted by Nikki are good. Lowering the salinity slowly to 1.018-1.020 and even lower, once in QT, can be very beneficial for an ailing fish. If it is breathing heavy or appears stressed otherwise then some methylene blue in the QT should also help.
Aquatronics has gone out of business, so Im not sure what meds you will have available. Kanamycin, Oxytetracycline, Nitrofurazone, and even Maracyn 2 would be good choices.
Good luck!

[Woodstock]

If you go the hyposalinty route, use a refractometer to test the salinty levels. I have used hyposalinty in a QT with excellent results. Just keep an eye on ammonia, nitrIte and salinity levels constantly.

[angnak]

I noticed it on the 26th. She did not have it in the morning and then noticed it later in the afternoon. She comes back out of the rocks at night and sleeps in the BTA. My wife saw her out and about yesterday but by the time I got home she was gone into the rock work. I told my wife to go ahead and feed the tank when she notices her out so she can get some food. I will give it a couple of more days before I go the QT route. Thanks for all the info.

[mps9506]

Originally Posted by Emerald

How long has the eye appeared this way? If the fish is not eating, I would suggest moving to QT to treat for secondary infection. The notes posted by Nikki are good. Lowering the salinity slowly to 1.018-1.020 and even lower, once in QT, can be very beneficial for an ailing fish. If it is breathing heavy or appears stressed otherwise then some methylene blue in the QT should also help.
Aquatronics has gone out of business, so Im not sure what meds you will have available. Kanamycin, Oxytetracycline, Nitrofurazone, and even Maracyn 2 would be good choices.
Good luck!

Oxytetracycline is available through the company Aquarium Products. Nitrofurazone is available through Jungle Labs. Maracyn 2 of course is a mardel product. Dunno anything about Kanamycin. But any pet or fish store should be able to get you the Aquarium Products of Jungle Labs products.
I've been using a lot of Jungle products now that aquatronics is out of buisness. You just have to research the products first though because they don't sell it by the ingredient name, they give it a cheezy name like parasite killer or fungus guard, etc.
Mike

[angnak]

Just an update. She has been out and in the BTA for the last two days and is eating very well. Back to her old behavior for now at least. Bossing her little man around when he gets in her way of eating. Her eye is looking a lot better, still a little left to heal. Thanks for all your replys as they were very helpful.